THOUSANDS of people across the Blair electorate will welcome extra cost-of-living relief this month, with increases to a range of social security payments set to put more money into household budgets.
The changes will benefit local students, young people, carers and families receiving Youth Allowance, Austudy, ABSTUDY, the Youth Disability Support Pension and the Carer Allowance.
The increases come through routine indexation, which adjusts payments in line with inflation to help ensure the social security system continues to support those who rely on it.
For students living away from home, the boost will be particularly welcome. A single adult on Youth Allowance with no dependants will see their maximum fortnightly payment rise to $684.20. This means their annual support is now more than $3800 higher than when Labor came to government.
Income thresholds for student payments will also increase, along with the parental income test thresholds for Youth Allowance and ABSTUDY, allowing families greater flexibility while children study or train.
Carers across the community will also see a lift in their payments, with the Carer Allowance increasing to $162.60 per fortnight. This equates to almost $700 more each year compared with previous payment levels, on top of the Carer Supplement and any other social security support carers may already receive.
Federal Member for Blair Shayne Neumann said the increases would help ease pressure on people juggling study, caring responsibilities and rising everyday costs.
“Thanks to indexation, people balancing study or caring responsibilities will receive a boost to their payments,” Mr Neumann said.
“We want to make sure our social security system continues to support local people when they need it, so no one is left behind.”
Mr Neumann said the payment rises build on a wider range of cost-of-living measures announced in last week’s Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook to support local families, workers and young people.
